supply

[BillRunacre]

ORIGINAL: Biker1984

ORIGINAL: Bill Runacre

A cut-off city like Lwow will have a maximum supply value of 3, which means that the unit occupying it can reinforce up to a maximum of strength 6. In the video clip at 22:00, the defending unit was at strength 10 and brought down to 9. If you've seen it reinforce to anything higher then do let me know.

The units adjacent to Lwow would be able to reinforce up to a maximum strength of 5, and all of them should be easy to destroy in a turn or two. Cutting units off really does make a huge difference, as in the following Axis turn attacks against them would be much easier.

However, looking at the video, one big problem for the Axis on the Eastern Front is that there don't appear to be any German HQs in the area around Lwow. This would make a massive difference to the combat results, especially if any Tanks and Tactical Bombers were also in range to support. As Germany is fighting a two front war, invading the UK as well as the USSR, the Barbarossa offensive isn't quite as strong as it might have been.

Since Paradogs Gamer started his game we have changed one of the rules on resources, so that the presence of just 2 enemy units adjacent to most resource types (Capitals and Fortresses are excepted) will reduce their strength by 1 per turn. So this means that Lwow would reduce in strength over coming turns and any ability to reinforce would be further reduced... effectively to zero.

This sound great! The game on it self looks really good and again I love the AI taking its time and reacting to the player moves.
Regarding the video you should first watch at 13.40 to 14.40. The Soviet Army and mech next to Lwow are both reduced to 3 strength points and they are both increased to 7 and 6 respectively; so when you are mentioning did you mean they can be reinforced with 5 more troops or up to 5 strength points?

You are right, what has happened in the video isn't what I would have expected as a cut off Lwow should only have a supply value of 3. It does suggest that Lwow's supply is higher than it should have been (remember this is beta) whereas the units should have only been able to reinforce to strength 5.

One for us to investigate!

[James Taylor]

I have modeled supply many times in AoD to see how it actually works when units are cutoff. Understand that supply deteriates one per turn with two units adjacent to the resource, that is 1 for your turn and 1 for your opponents turn, two per cycle.

A supply source of 5 dwindles quickly, two cycles, and with a little strategic bombing it can be brought to zero in one cycle. The problem is if there is a HQ in the mix. HQ provides supply of 10, if HQ = 10 strength and resource >= to 6. If resource less than 6, then HQ provides 8 supply. Once resource falls to zero supply, HQ provides supply of 5.

Any reduction in strength of supply providing HQ will further diminish supply, so you see it is important to target any HQ in the encirclement as well as the supplying resource.

Remember also that the projection of supply is limited(action points), so an HQ will want to remain very close to(or on) the supply resource to gain the enhancement of its supply especially as the resource loses supply.

The same goes for the units in the encirclement, they'll want to remain adjacent or very close to the HQ to benefit from maximum supply, making for a tighter deployment more easily reduced by opponent's activities.

[ILCK]

I can see units having some supply - even then a corps or army on combat footing is going to blow through supplies that might have been depoed in the area. Adding manpower still makes no sense unless each city has a training center capable of adding thousands of troops a week.

Watching into episode 20 the cutoff units appear to be giving a shockingly good account of themselves when attacked still.

[James Taylor]

Depending upon readiness and morale, and especially unit experience the isolated units may continue to be effective.

One word of advice, do not attack a unit multiple times if you're not expecting it to lose at least one step of strength as each attack will allow a gain in experience if no damage is done.

[BillRunacre]

ORIGINAL: ILCK

I can see units having some supply - even then a corps or army on combat footing is going to blow through supplies that might have been depoed in the area. Adding manpower still makes no sense unless each city has a training center capable of adding thousands of troops a week.

Watching into episode 20 the cutoff units appear to be giving a shockingly good account of themselves when attacked still.

I agree, but offensives without HQ support are very difficult, as they not only provide supply but also (and more significantly) combat bonuses to the units under their command.

In terms of units in and around Lwow reinforcing:
I've just run a test where I replicated the exact same circumstances and the good news is that the Red Army units can only reinforce to 6 (in Lwow) and 5 (adjacent to Lwow), which are the expected levels.

Units at low strength and supply like this are sitting ducks, and an Axis offensive into the USSR in 1941 would normally blow them away without any difficulty. However, as the Axis are fighting a war on two fronts in this video, their invasion of the USSR lacks the punch that you'd normally expect.